History of the Alphorn

Archaeological records of the Alphorn in Switzerland date back nearly twothousand years. Early instruments in the mountainous regions of the alpswere used for signaling and to announce daily activities. Since ancienttimes the Alphorn has sounded as a part of the daily activities of the shepherdsand cowherds of these mountain people. The Alphorn was used to calm the dairycows at milking time. It was the twilight signal for the flocks of sheep tosettle in for the night as the shepherds exchanged rustic melodies across thevalleys. Such melodies became ritual signals for "All is Well in the Valley" andwere passed down through countless generations, from shepherd father to shepherdson. The sound of the Alphorn called the people to gather for council and themen to gather for war.

Today the alphorn is not used by herdsman for signaling, but primarily bymusicians. The horn is about twelve feet long and is carved or bored inwood and overwound with birch bark or caning. Modern alphorns arealso made with a carbon-fiber composite, making them lightweight andcompact. Sound is produced in a manner similar to brass instruments by thevibration of the performers lips. Due to its conical bore the Alphorn produces amellow, and reverberant sound that can carry for long distances. Theinstrument has a four-octave range. Since the Alphorn has no keys, valves, orslides, it is not a chromatic instrument. This means that it can only producethe pitches in its overtone series and cannot sound those pitches in between.